Guide device for causing a roller bending machine to form a cone



Oct. 1, 1957 w. J. ERKES GUIDE DEVICE FOR CAUSING A ROLLER BENDING MACHINE TO FORM A CONE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 11. 1954 ll/I/III'II'IIIIIIIIIIA FIGZ 24 fllllllllllllllllll 3 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM J. ERKES Oct. 1, 1957 Filed Jan. 11, 1954 KES GUIDE DEVICE FOR CAUSING A ROLLER BENDING MACHINE TO FORM A CONE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7o -56 w w gww INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY United States GUIDE DEVICE FOR CAUSING A ROLLER BEND- ING MACHINE TO FORM A CONE William James Erkes, Langhorne, Pa.

Application January 11, 1954, Serial No. 403,167

4 Claims. (Cl. 15354) arcuate strip or blank is cut from sheet metal stock and is passed through a roll bending machine. At the same time, the strip must be shifted laterally in a circular path about a point corresponding to the apex of the cone, causing the outer edge of the strip to he slipped through the rolls at a greater rate than the inner edge so that the rolls always lie along a radius of the are formed by the strip. When the bending is completed, the ends of the strip are welded or otherwise joined to form a finished cone. If the strip is not shifted, a spiral will be formed, consequently, if the strip is shifted too rapidly or too slowly, the ends of the strip may be vertically displaced or the angle of the sides may be varied so that the ends of the strip do not meet. This is also true if the end of the strip is not parallel to the rollers when the strip is fed to the machine.

As noted above, this work has previously been done only by hand. The shifting is, therefore, never uniform throughout a single workpiece. This causes sending of the workpiece and is a potential source of weakness in the finished cone. Also, with hand forming, it has been impossible to produce two identical cones and the rate of production has been low. In addition, highly skilled labor is required for this work so that the cost of sheet metal conical sections has been excessive. Furthermore, where large sections are desired or rigid materials are employed, it has frequently required several men with levers to force the strip to shift. From a safety aspect, the work is dangerous since the shifting adjustment is extremely critical and workmen frequently shift the strip with their hands in close proximity to the rollers. Consequently, the incidence of accidents, resulting in injured fingers, hands, etc., is extremely high.

These disadvantages of prior art methods of forming sheet metal conical sections are overcome with the present invention and a device is provided which assures substantially uniform shifting throughout each cone. Consequently, scufling and danger of rejects due to displacement of the end of the workpiece are eliminated. Also, the device permits mass reproduction of substantially identical conical sections. Furthermore, the device makes it possible for unskilled workmen to form conical sections and, since the workman is only required to start the workpiece and to remove the finished cone, one man can operate several machines and the rate of production is, thus,

greatly increased. The facts that unskilled labor may be used, and the rate of production is increased and the numbenof improperly formed conical sections .is deatent creased, mean that the cost of producing sheet metal conical sections is cut considerably. An additional feature of the new device is that it prevents the possibility of the workman getting his hands caught and injured by the rollers. A

These advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing a novel Work guide which is preferably independent of the roll bending machine and which is simple and inexpensive in construction. The guide is so designed that it cooperates with the workpiece and the roll bending machine to cause the strip to shift automatically in a lateral direction as it passes into the machine. Furthermore, while the device ofthe present invention finds its chief utility in the formation of conical sections it is possible to employ the device to form sheet metalin mass production into various other unique shapes which have heretofore required highly skilled hand forming operations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device to permit forming conical sections of sheet metal without the use'of highly skilled hand labor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device with which one man can form conical sections of sheet metal regardless of the rigidity of the metal or the size of the section to be formed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for use with roll bending machines which will prevent the workmen from injury due to being caught by the rolls.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a device for use with roll bending machines which will permit mass reproduction of unique shapes from sheet metal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which will assure substantially uniform shifting of an thereofv wherein reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of one typical form of device embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a roll bending machine showing a workpiece being fed to the machine through the device illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view Fig. 2;

Fig. 4,is a perspective of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 5 -is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 showing a workpiece being fed through the device of Fig. 4 to the roll bending machine to form the article of Fig. 6; and

taken on the line 33 of Fig. 6 is a perspective of a typical shape formed by using the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4.

In those forms ,of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in the drawings, in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the. device designated generally as 2, is shown as comprising- 6 act as guards to cover the entrance to gripping rollersv 3 v 14 and 16 and, thus, prevent the possibility of a work- 'mans fingers, etc. getting caught and injured.

The horizontal portions 22 and 24 of members 4 and 6am .located parallel and adjacent to each other and are spaced apart'a distance suflicient-to provide-a work .ope'ning 26 'therebetween for receiving a sheet .metal workpiece 28but'preferably should be close-enough-to prevent a workman from putting a finger into this space. The work opening 26 is bounded at opposite ends by rollers 30 and 32 located between horizontal portions 22 and '24. Roller 30 is permanently located, as by pin 34 while roller 32 is adjustable longitudinally of the device 2. Aligned slots 36 and 38 are formed in horizontal portions 22 and 24 of members 4 and 6 and roller 32 may be secured'in a desired position along slots 36 and .38 by any suitable means such as bolt-40 and wing .nut 42. In use, an arcuate sheet metal strip .or'workpiece 28 is provided and roller 32 of the device .2 is adjusted so that the distance between rollers .30 and 32 is just sufliciently greater than the radial width of'strip 28'to permit passage of the strip between rollers 30 and 32. One end of strip 28 is then passed through work opening 26 and is introduced between gripping rollers 14 and 16 of the roll bending machine 12. When the strip 28 is gripped by gripping rollers 14 and 16, the inner arcuate edge 44 of strip 28 bears against roller 30 and forces the device 2 toward the machine 12 causing'members 8 and to bear against gripping rollers 14 and 16 bringing vertical portions 18 and of members 4 and 6 into position to guard against injury as noted above. The force with which strip 28 holds the device 2 against gripping rollers 14 and 16 is suflicient to position the device 2 parallel to gripping rollers 14 and 16 and restrain the device against lateral displacement.

Since the strip 28 is arcuate and gripping rollers 14 and 16 should always lie along a radius of the arc, the center line of strip '28 should always be perpendicular to the axis of the gripping rollers 14 and 16 at the point of entrance. In accordance with this, when the device 2 is forced against the bending rollers, it will align itself parallel'with them and, if strip 28 was fed to the gripping rollers 14 and 16 at an improper angle, rollers and 32 will bear against the edges of the strip 28 and automatically shift it into the proper position. I

As the strip 28 is drawn into roll bending machine 12, inner edge 44 will continuously bear against roller 30 and the resulting force will tend to displace strip 28 sideways. Such motion is prevented, however, by roller 32 and, since the strip is being pulled toward gripping rollers 14 and 16 and cannot movesideways, the strip 28 will shift or pivot about roller 30 until the strip is in position to pass between roller 30 and 32. If roller 32 has been properly adjusted, there will be very little tolerance or play and strip 28 will be'shifted in a continuous manner determined by the radius of the arcuate inner edge 44 of the workpiece bearing against roller 30 as the piece advances toward the bending rolls. Even if roller 32 is not accurately adjusted, the strip will be shifted several hundred timesduring the bending operation. Each of these shifts will be only very slight and the overall eflect will be that .of a substantially uniform shifting. In hand operation, the shifts are much less frequent and are not made at regular intervals, and, consequently, each shift must be greater, that is the length of the strip 28 which is slipped through the rollers 14 and 16 must be greater. This causes scuff marks which bruise the surface of the metal and are potential sources of weakness. 3

In addition to producing .a better product, since the shifting takes place automatically, as described above, a workman need only slide the device 2 onto oneend of strip 28 and'feed that end to the roll bending machine 12. As soon asthe end of strip 28 is gripped by gripping rolls 14 and '16, the strip 28 will be drawn into the machine 12-and will be shifted automatically without as- 54 to guide workpieces therebetween.

sistance from the workman. Consequently, the workman may start one strip in one machine and then move on to a second machine to start a second strip and thereafter move to a third machine, returning to the first machine in time to remove the finished conical section. In this way, the rate of production is vastly increased, and, since the work is automatic, each conical section will be substantially identical. Furthermore, since the workman need only start the strip into the roll 'bending'machine and the device will then align and shift the strip without further eifort on the part of the workman, the need for high skilled labor is eliminated and unskilled labor may be used.

If desired, the device may be attached to the roll bending machine 12 by any suitable means. However, the device is preferably separate and independent of the machine and is held in place by the action of strip 28 hearing against roller 30 .as the strip is drawn between gripping rollers '14 and 16, as noted above.

Should it be desired to form cylindrical shapes, rather than conical sections, the device also has utilitysince it can function as a work guide for such operations.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the device is designated generally at 46 and comprises a rectangular member 48 formed of heavy guage sheet metal and provided with an opening orwindow 50. Parallel upper and lower horizontal flanges 52 and 54 project substantially perpendicularly from mem: ber 48 adjacent opposite edges of window 50. A plurality of spaced holes 56 are formed in a line extending longitudinally of upper horizontal flange 52 in alignment with similar holes 58 formed in lower horizontal flange 54. Rollers 60 and 62, corresponding to rollers 30 and 32 'of Fig. 1, .are located between flanges 52 and The rollers are both adjustably located as shown in this form of the invention and are maintained in the desired position by passing bolts'64 and 66 through spaced holes 58 in flange 54, through the roller and through corresponding 'holes 56 in flange 52. The bolts may be secured in any suitable manner as by nuts 68 and 70. Thus, while being adjustable, the rollers 60 and 62 are rigidly supported in the desired position.

in use, this form of the invention functions almost identically to that of 'Fig. l. Rectangular member 48 bears against the rollers of the roll bending machine and guards the entrance in the same manner as vertical portions 18 and 20 of-members 4 and 6 of Fig. 1.

This form of the invention has particular advantage in forming unique shapes of sheet metal such as that designated by 72 in Fig. 6 which may have use-incompli'cated duct systems. To form this shape, a generally S-shaped strip of sheet metal '74 is provided, as shown in Fig. '5. Rollers 60 and 62 are adjusted so that the distance between them just equals the width of the strip 72. One end of strip 74 is passed between rollers 60 and 62 and is'then fed to roll bending machine 76.

As strip 74 is drawn into the machine, edge 78 bears against roller '60, in the same manner that edge 44 of strip 28 bears against roller 30 in Fig, 1, causing strip 74 to shift laterally in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 5, and forming portion 80 of shape 72 of Fig. 6. When the strip 74 has been drawn into the roll bending machine 76 to approximately the point of dotted'line 82, edge 78 ceases to 'bear against roller 60 sufliciently to continue shifting. On the other hand, edge 84 now bears against roller 62 causing shifting in a counterclockwise direction and forming portion 86 of shape 72 of Fig. 6. Y

The device may or may not be attached to the roll bending machine -as desired. Also, the rollers may be secured in any suitable'manner .or, if desired, hardened pins or other edge engaging elements may be substituted for the rollers. Furthermore, while the device'2 is .shown in Fig. 3 with the horizontal flanges 22 and 24 facing outwardly from roll bending machine 12, the device will function equally well with the flanges facing inwardly. Additionally, the flanges are provided merely as a convenient means for mounting the guide rollers and may, if desired, be omitted completely. Numerous other changes and modifications may obviously be made and it should, therefore, be clearly understood that the forms of the invention described above and chosen for illustration in the figures of the accompanying drawings are intended to be illustrative only and are not intended to limit the invention.

I claim: a

1. A device for forming a figure of revolution from a sheet of material which has concentric arcuate side edges by endwise passage of said sheet between the gripping rolls and into engagement with the bending roll of a. bending machine, said device comprising two members spaced apart to form an elongated work opening through which the sheet may be passed endwise to the nip of the gripping rolls of the bending machine, edge guiding elements defining the opposite ends of said work opening positioned in spaced relation to engage the arcuate side edges of the sheet as it passes through the work opening to the gripping rolls, and means on said device presenting fiat surfaces engaging with the gripping rolls and coacting with the sheet for continuously holding said device in predetermined position with respect to the bending machine with the work opening parallel to and aligned with the nip of the gripping rolls of the machine during movement of the sheet through the work opening of the device.

2. A device for forming a figure of revolution from a sheet of material which has concentric arcuate side edges by endwise passage of said sheet between the gripping rolls and into engagement with the bending roll of a bending machine, said device comprising two members spaced apart to form an elongated work opening through which the sheet may be passed endwise to the nip of the gripping rolls of the bending machine, edge guiding elements defining the opposite ends of said work opening positioned in spaced relation to engage the arcuate side edges of the sheet as it passes through the work opening to the gripping rolls, and means carried by said device and arranged in position to engage the gripping rolls of the bending machine and coacting with the sheet to hold said device in predetermined position with respect to the bending machine with the work opening parallel to and aligned with the nip of the gripping rolls of the machine during movement of the sheet through the work opening of the device.

3. A device for forming a figure of revolution from a sheet of material which has concentric arcuate side edges by endwise passage of said sheet between the gripping rolls and into engagement with the bending roll of a bending machine, said device comprising two members arranged in parallel relation and spaced apart to form an elongated work opening through which the sheet may be passed endwise to the nip of the rolls of the bending machine, a guiding element defining-an end of said work opening and positioned to be engaged by the inner arcuate side edge of the sheet as it passes through the work opening, said guiding element being fixedly mounted with respect to the device and serving to urge the device toward the rollers of the bending machine upon engagement of the inner arcuate edge of said sheet therewith, a second guiding element spaced from the first and positioned to engage the outer arcuate edge of the sheetas it passes through the work opening, and means on said device positioned to engage the gripping rolls of the bending machine and coacting with the sheet to hold the work opening parallel to and aligned with the nip of the gripping rolls of the machine during movement of the sheet through the work opening of the device.

4. A device for forming a figure of revolution from a sheet of material which has concentric arcuate side edges by endwise passage of said sheet between the gripping rolls and into engagement with the bending roll of a bending machine, said device comprising two members arranged in parallel relation and spaced apart to form an elongated work open-ing through which the sheet may be passed endwise to the nip of the rolls of the bending machine, guide means defining the opposite ends of said work opening positioned in spaced relation and engageable with the arcuate edges of said sheet as it passes through the work opening to said gripping rolls, and flanges projecting outward from said members so as to form a passage leading to the work opening, said members being engageable with said gripping rolls and coacting with the sheet to maintain said device in a predetermined position during the bending operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 14,049 Brady Jan. 8, 1856 1,146,547 Bishop July 13, 1915 2,674,294 Ekberg Apr. 6, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 5,837 Great Britain of 1882 314,807 Germany Oct. 14, 1919 534,391 Germany Sept. 25, 1931 

